Chapter Two
“Where’s Stacy?” Ryan asked as he slid into a seat at Short Cuts, the local bar and grill in Hamilton.
Ryan relied heavily on his coworker and assistant, Stacy Miller. People often teased that Stacy was the one who ran the show at his office, and for the most part she did. She kept him and the other two realtors who worked there on task at all times. She was his best friend, and he was starting to become concerned that he may have caused irreparable harm to that relationship.
It was Monday, and he hadn’t seen her all day. She was usually the first one at the office and the last one to leave. He’d texted her a couple of times with no response. He hadn’t worried too much about it. Stacy was about the most dedicated employee a person could ask for, so obviously if she wasn’t there, something important had come up. But not answering the texts was starting to concern him. He was trying extremely hard not to believe that the kiss last Wednesday had anything to do with the fact that she wasn’t responding to his text messages.
When he’d left for the day, he’d spotted his brother Derek’s truck at Short Cuts. No doubt if Derek was there, Stacy’s crew of friends would be there too. He was starting to worry not only about the kiss, but her wellbeing as well. And somebody there was bound to know where the hell she was.
Ryan’s unease inched toward panic when Derek and others at the table shared wide-eyed glances with one another.
“You’re kidding, right?” That came from his soon-to-be sister-in-law, Ashley.
“Dumbass,” Ryan heard Derek mumble under his breath.
Derek and Ashley weren’t engaged yet, but there was no doubt in Ryan’s mind that they would be by Christmas. Their responses kicked up his concern a notch.
“What? What’s going on? She wasn’t in an accident or anything, was she? I’ve been trying to get ahold of her all day, and she’s not responding to my text messages,” Ryan said.
He watched as everyone at the table did another round of wide-eyed looks.
“What the fuck’s going on? Where’s Stacy?” he demanded.
“Ryan, I don’t know whether to laugh or punch you in the face,” said Jessica, Ashley’s twin sister.
Ryan’s eyes widened. That had been unexpected. He’d known Jessica since they were kids and she and Ashley had hung around the house with his sister, Abby. Jessica was the shy one of the three. Her threatening to punch him in the face was not something he’d ever expected to hear. But he was bracing himself for worse. There was no doubt in his mind at this point that they knew about last week’s incident.
“Would someone just please tell me where the hell Stacy is?” Ryan asked with irritation in his voice.
“She left for Baltimore Saturday! Don’t act like you didn’t know,” Jessica said with equal irritation.
“Baltimore? So she went to visit her grandparents. Damn, why didn’t you just say so?” Ryan relaxed in his seat.
“Oh shit,” Derek said, wrapping an arm around Ashley, who appeared ready to pounce on Ryan.
“No, Ryan, she didn’t just go to visit her grandparents. She left. Moved to Baltimore. I’m sure she told you, and once again you weren’t paying attention,” Ashley said, throwing a hand up.
“What? No, she didn’t tell me anything,” Ryan said as a niggle of panic started to work its way up his spine.
“You are a complete jackass. I know you’re used to turning on that little grin and having everyone trip over themselves to do anything you ask, but sometimes people wise up. And am so glad Stacy finally did,” Jessica quickly stood, grabbed her purse, and stomped out of the bar.
Ryan sat there dumbfounded. Stacy was gone, and apparently Jessica was pissed off at him about it. He was certainly starting to regret coming to Short Cuts tonight.
“What the fuck was that about?” Ryan asked. “When is Stacy coming back?” He was still holding out hope that he’d misunderstood what they were saying and she hadn’t left because of what he’d done.
“Stacy moved to Baltimore. She’s not coming back,” Ashley said slowly.
“Bullshit,” Ryan said dismissively as he held up one finger to the bartender.
But he was in full panic mode. Stacy couldn’t leave him. He needed her. He spoke with her almost every day. Granted, he hadn’t talked to her since last Wednesday, but he’d figured she was just avoiding any weirdness. He’d thought she’d be in today and everything would be back to normal. She was his rock. The person he depended on the most.
Derek and Ashley just sat there and watched as he processed the information. They didn’t appear all that sympathetic. What the fuck was that? Everyone knew he depended on her. Why was everyone acting like this was all his fault?
Damn it. It was his fault.
“She’ll be back,” Ryan said as the waitress placed a beer in front of him.
* * * * *
Stacy knew exactly what time yesterday Ryan had found out she’d moved.
He’d sent his normal morning text letting her know what was on his agenda for the day. She hadn’t responded. Then he’d sent another one around lunchtime to check on a property for sale. Again she hadn’t responded. The last text he’d sent, before he found out, had been around closing time at the realty office to let her know he was locking up.
It had been about six thirty when her phone had started chiming nonstop with text messages. When she hadn’t answered those, it had started ringing nonstop. Granted, she’d turned her ringer off after about the third text, but she’d still seen it lighting up on the table, over and over.
It really had been a shitty thing to do, leaving without notice and moving to Baltimore. But Ryan would have tried to talk her out of it, and god help her, she probably would have let him. That was the problem. She’d do anything for that man, but unfortunately the only thing he wanted from her was her organizational skills.
The texts and calls had stopped about an hour later, and it had been radio silence ever since. She’d peeked at the text messages, and they were what she’d expected. They were all variations on the same theme, asking where she was and why she hadn’t told him about the move. They all asked her to call him. He hadn’t left any voicemails. She was partly disappointed and partly relieved about that. She was going to call him in a day or two. Or maybe just email. Yeah, email would probably be much better. And she’d probably have to get her phone number changed anyway, so that would eliminate any chance of him texting or calling in the future.
A clean break. That was what she needed. She’d worked for him for three years now. Time to face reality. She and Ryan weren’t going to happen.
This job offer couldn’t have come at a better time. Stacy’s mother had grown up in Baltimore and had been good friends with Riley Collins Young. They’d continued to stay in touch over the years after Stacy’s mother had attended college in Virginia. Once the two had discovered Facebook, they’d probably become closer cyber friends than they had been in high school.
Riley’s niece, Caitlyn, was in a relationship with the Lucas Whiting. He owned Whiting Properties and had recently opened the Collins House, which had apartments for low-income seniors. It was Stacy’s understanding that the entire project had come together rather quickly and there were lots of seniors applying for apartments. They needed someone familiar not only with real estate management, but also with Project-Based Section 8 housing, which was what she’d been doing before joining Blue Ridge Realty.
The Collins clan were loyal friends and had quickly made this happen for Stacy. She’d spoken to Mr. Whiting, and he’d assured her that he was thrilled Riley had pushed this arrangement, that she was perfect for the job. She didn’t start officially until the following Monday, but he had agreed to let her move into one of the apartments over the weekend.
Stacy pulled out her laptop and placed it on the table of the booth she was sitting in at Pat’s Pub. The pub and the attached restaurant belong to the Collins family. Riley was the youngest of Pat’s children, and she worked in the restaurant, Sunday’s Side. Stacy had been here many times. As a teen she’d come with her mother when they were in the city visiting her grandparents. As an adult, Stacy came on her own when she was visiting. She still had trouble keeping all the members of the huge Collins family straight, but everyone knew who she was. It was a great feeling having everyone greet her by name when she walked through the door.
She was meeting her new boss today. She wanted to look up the website for the Collins House, so she could speak intelligently on the facility. Since she’d moved in over the weekend, she was familiar with the layout, but she wanted to find out more about the application process for prospective tenants.
Her phone dinged with a text message, and she couldn’t help but look and see if it was from Ryan. It wasn’t. The text was from Jess. She wanted to know if everything was okay. It was a strange text. Why wouldn’t everything be okay? They’d just spoken this morning, and she’d told her how wonderful the building was and how she was meeting with Lucas this afternoon.
Jess was very supportive of her move to Baltimore, but Stacy hadn’t told her about the kiss last week. It was embarrassing. The man of her dreams had sworn he’d never kiss her again. Damn. That was a shot to her ego. Jess did know that the move was because of Ryan, but she just thought Stacy had finally come to her senses and was moving on. That was technically true.
She’d just hit send on her reply when she looked up to see Ryan slide into the booth, across from her. She instantly knew what had prompted the text from Jess. She knew Ryan was coming. Damn. She could have given a girl a little more notice.
“What are you doing here?” she asked with a furrowed brow.
“Interesting. I was going to ask you the same question,” Ryan said with raised eyebrows.
“I’m sorry I left without notice, but I thought it would be easier that way,” Stacy said.
“It’s interesting, though, that I was the only one who didn’t get the advantage of knowing about this move,” Ryan said as folded his hands on the table. “Why was the easy way only for my benefit?”
“The only people I told were Jess and Ashley,” Stacy said.
“Why, Stacy? Why are you doing this?” Ryan asked.
Stacy looked into Ryan’s big blue eyes, and it hurt. There was no way she could answer that question truthfully. She was in love with this man and she couldn’t tell him that. She wouldn’t tell him that.
“That’s really none of your business,” she said, dropping her eyes to her laptop. Her mind was spinning, and couldn’t have said what was on the screen if her life depended on it. There was no way she could focus on anything other than the man of her dreams, who had just followed her to Baltimore and was sitting across from her. She had to keep her wits about her. This wasn’t about him coming after her because he couldn’t live without her. This was about him needing someone to run his office.
“Bullshit,” Ryan said in a deadly calm voice.
Stacy quickly looked up. Ryan, who normally found humor in almost every situation, was obviously not amused at the moment.
“You left without giving notice. I think I have a right to know why. I can’t argue for you to come back if I don’t know why you left,” Ryan said as he leaned back in his seat.
Stacy furrowed her brow and smiled. With a disbelieving shake of her head, she said, “If I wanted you to know, I wouldn’t have left without notice.”
Stacy quickly became aware of all the eyes looking in her direction. Riley was hovering around the entrance to Sunday’s Side, and two of Riley’s brothers behind the bar seemed to be keeping a close eye in her direction too. Riley, she understood, but her brothers? Stacy’s mother had told her the Collins clan was a very protective bunch, but wow. Suddenly another thought occurred to her.
“How did you know where to find me?” Stacy asked.
“Your mom,” Ryan said.
Stacy sighed. She really couldn’t blame her mother. She didn’t know Ryan was the reason for her move. She just thought it was ambition.
“As you can see, everything is fine. I’m meeting with my new boss any minute now, so you can head home. I appreciate you checking up on me, but really, I’m fine,” Stacy said dismissively.
“I’m staying here for a few days,” Ryan said.
“Am I interrupting anything?”
Stacy immediately recognized Lucas Whiting. She’d seen his picture online when she was researching the Collins House.
“No,” Stacy said at the same time Ryan responded with a yes.
Lucas chuckled. “I could come back…” He started to turn.
“No. Ryan was just leaving.” Stacy gave Ryan a pointed look.
Lucas reached out a hand to Ryan and said, “I’m Lucas Whiting. It’s nice to meet you.”
“I know who you are. Your reputation precedes you,” Ryan challenged.
“Ryan!” Stacy was mortified by the implied accusation.
“No. It’s quite all right. I assure you, Ryan, I’ve spent the last few months making amends for that reputation,” Lucas said with a chuckle.
“Do you really think I’m just going to walk away while this guy steals my girl?” Ryan asked Stacy, his voice louder than normal.
Stacy spotted Riley heading their way and her brothers stepping out from behind the bar. Lucas, however, didn’t seem intimidated in the least.
“Ryan,” Stacy said, getting him to focus on her and not on the death stare he was giving Lucas. “What hotel are you staying in? I’ll meet you there later and we’ll talk.”
Ryan hesitated, his trademark grin gone. “I’m staying at the Marriott near Camden Yards.”
“Okay, I’ll meet you there. Later,” Stacy said with a smile.
Ryan slid out of the booth with a look of dejection. Stacy had to grin. That was something she’d never seen before, and part of her was a little psyched that she had the ability to cause it.
Lucas reached out his hand to shake Ryan’s again. Ryan walked past the man without even acknowledging him.
Yep. Ryan wasn’t happy. But she hadn’t been real happy the last year and a half where Ryan was concerned, so she was having a hard time mustering up any empathy for him. Especially when he was being so childish.
Stacy turned her attention to Lucas and extended her hand to shake his.
“Sorry about that. Please have a seat,” she said.
“Your boyfriend does realize that I’m hiring you to run the Collins House, not try to date you?”
“He’s not my boyfriend. He’s my previous employer,” Stacy said with a smile.
“Is everything okay over here?” Riley asked, stepping up to the booth.
“Yes, everything’s fine.” Stacy smiled.
“Okay. We’ll talk later,” Riley told her with a look of concern.
Stacy nodded and turned her attention back to Lucas.
“I want to thank you so much for giving me this opportunity. I hope that my experience in real estate will be an asset to the Collins House,” she said.
“I find the Collins family an excellent reference, so I’m sure you’ll do a great job,” Lucas said. “What questions do you have for me?”